


never leaving owls

by fromthefarshore



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Childhood Friends, Gen, Hospitals, M/M, Owls, Reunions, Slow Build, owls training
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-31
Updated: 2015-09-02
Packaged: 2018-04-18 09:29:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4700930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fromthefarshore/pseuds/fromthefarshore
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Years after not seeing each other Bokuto comes back into Akaashi's life like long awaited spring, and slowly becomes summer; the special summer that Akaashi seems to like more than ever.<br/>A story about reunion, changes and a bit of owl training.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. -i-

**Author's Note:**

> Entry for Haikyuu Summer Big Bang!  
> It's going to be a 3-chapter story, but I'm uploading first two chapters now and 3rd one tomorrow or in a couple of days when it's proofread and fully finished!  
> Also, big thanks to [swagzume-kenbrah](http://swagzume-kenbrah.tumblr.com) for being my beta and [Boshi](http://nagareboshi22.tumblr.com) for working on [art](http://nagareboshi22.tumblr.com/post/128178755397/totally-not-finished-with-this-i-can-do-so-much) for the story ^o^ 
> 
> Hope you will enjoy it!

_"Mom, what do owl trainers do?" Keiji asks when they're sitting at the dinner table and takes a little bite of rapeseed to test the taste, then shoves the whole thing into his mouth._

_"Owl trainers?" his mom scowls slightly, thinking, then gives him a smile, "They take care of owls and teach them how to do all kind of things. Where did you hear about owl trainers, Keiji?"_

_He swallows the food and smiles brightly, his eyes wide._

_"There is a boy in other class. Bokuto Koutarou," he furrows his eyebrows for a moment, but then he's smiling again, "He said I can call him Kou. Kou will become an owl trainer when he grows up."_

_"That's lovely! Is he your new friend?" his mom asks and Keiji nods slightly._

_"We played with volleyball together, so Kou said we are friends. He also said that he will have hair like owl horns when he grows up," Keiji laughs, "Kou is a bit weird, but I like him."_

_"Is he? Isn't he just really interesting, so that's why you like him?" she gives him a warm smile and Keiji thinks for a moment before repeating her words._

_"I like Kou because he is interesting," he says and giggles silently. He likes the sound of it and when the next day he says it to Koutarou himself, he's greeted with the widest smile he's ever seen in his life._

\- 

Akaashi smiles fondly to himself when he sees a poster advertising an event with owl trainers from various countries. Every time he passes it, it reminds him of elementary school and Bokuto Koutarou - a boy who liked owls more than anything. He's gone through the names on the poster before, searching for characters that would make up the name imprinted in his memory. When he thought he found it, the characters didn't make it until the end of the name and Akaashi sighed to himself, realising that the only kanji characters for "bokuto" are for species of owl that is going to appear during performance.

He wonders if Bokuto has hair like owl horns now, and he tries to imagine it, letting out an amused puff. He hasn't seen Bokuto for more than ten years now, and he can't help but think how things would have turned out if he had never transferred schools.

He takes a deep breath, enjoying the last sips of the iced coffee before entering the little local hospital he's helping out at. Akaashi's not a medicine student and he's never attended any special courses for nursing, but he grew up with his aunt teaching him everything she knew herself, and now he finds himself coming to help her in the hospital whenever he has some free time.

He can't do much without any degree, so usually he only takes care of crying kids with bruised knees, cleaning their little wounds and putting a plaster if needed, shows people to the doctors they need to see or simply helps out his aunt with some papers. It makes him somehow happy though, and he stops by reception desk, knocking on the counter.

"Tsukishima? Are you here?" he asks in a silent voice and soon a tall blond man comes from the back. 

"Oh, hello," he says, and a small grin appears on his face, "Did you come here just to bother me at work again?"

Akaashi lets out a heavy sigh, then puts his elbows on the counter, "Stop telling the same thing every time I come here," he smiles at his friend. Tsukishima is one year younger than Akaashi; he's studying medicine though and thanks to his dad working in the hospital has gotten part-time job here. They've known each other for years as Akaashi's aunt and Tsukishima's father are not only colleagues but also good friends, and they've gotten quite friendly during that time, too. 

Tsukishima sniffs. 

"And don't pretend you don't like it," Akaashi adds and it makes Tsukishima laugh. "Anyway, are you free this weekend?"

Tsukishima looks at the calendar, then furrows his eyebrows, "Only on Sunday evening. I'm going to some conference on Saturday and then have to submit a paper about it on Sunday afternoon."

Akaashi hums, thinking, "There's that event with owls. I decided I want to check it."

"Didn't you tell that that friend of yours isn't on the list?" Tsukishima asks, then chuckles, "Or you're thinking you can meet him in the crowd? That's very doubtful."

"I'm not," Akaashi gives him a look, then shrugs, "It just sounds interesting, I want to see how it works. Want to join me if they still have tickets?"

Tsukishima thinks for a moment, then walks to the side and moves the mouse for computer screen to get bright, "Okay. If there are tickets."

Akaashi smiles, then walks around the counter and stands next to Tsukishima who checks the website for tickets.

Sunday evening show is sold out, and the only one available is on Saturday afternoon. Akaashi looks at the screen for a while, thinking what to do, but Tsukishima clicks the button to order the ticket.

"You should go," he says when Akaashi looks at him with questioning eyes. "You've been talking about this the whole month, so why not?" Tsukishima looks at him waiting for response, and when Akaashi lets out a heavy sigh and nods, Tsukishima types in Akaashi's name and phone number and confirms the booking.

-

Akaashi tries to keep his eyes on the owls in front of him, but despite himself he ends up looking around. There's nobody resembling Bokuto though, no one gets overly excited about the whole owl training thing, and Akaashi leaves the show right after the performance is finished.

When next day Tsukishima asks how did it go, Akaashi shrugs, saying that it wasn't anything special, and gets a teasing grin in reply.

-

_Koutarou puts the book on the bench and squats down, taking Keiji's hand and pulling him down too._

_"Look at this," he opens the book and shows the index page, "My mom bought me a book about owls, how cool is that!" he exclaims, making Keiji smile. "I let you choose which one you want to check first," Koutarou grins and Keiji hums, going through the list of owl species. He can't read all the Japanese names for owls as they contained unknown kanji characters; and having katakana and Latin words doesn't really help him much either. However, soon his eyes catch on a line of characters that ends up the same way you write Bokuto's name, and he points at it._

_"This one. Great Horned Owl," he reads the name and Koutarou lets out a satisfied hum._

_"Perfect choice," he opens the page and moves the book closer to Keiji, "Do you want to hear more about it? It's difficult to read, but my mom helped me. And I learnt everything, so I can tell you!"_

_Keiji looks at the beautiful photo of the owl, then back at smiling Koutarou, and nods._

_"I want to hear more," he says and Koutarou takes a deep breath._

_"First of all, this owl is the coolest one," he smiles and points at himself, "We share the same name! And when I grow up, my hair will look like this," he points to one of the photos and grins. Keiji tries to imagine Koutarou with his hair like owl horns, and smiles, his eyes shining._

_"I want to see it," he whispers as if afraid that everything might disappear if he talks any louder. Koutarou gives him a bright smile, and takes two grasps of his own hair, pulling them up to make them look as horns._

_"You will," he says and Keiji laughs._

-

Akaashi steals a few sips of coffee from Tsukishima's cup, then goes to get the white coat. He thinks for a moment, then decides to change into nurse shirt instead as it has short sleeves. He goes to ask his aunt if she needs any help, but she's okay, so Akaashi decides to go back to Tsukishima and help him instead. When he gets to the hall of the first floor, he runs into doctor Nekomata and slightly bows his head.

"Good afternoon."

"Oh, Keiji, just the right time. There are two young men in the waiting room, could you take care of them? One of them got scratched by a bird - clean the wounds and show him to Kiyoko for blood tests and vaccine just in case, would you? I've got to patch someone up now, see you around."

Akaashi has just enough time to nod before the man disappears, then he walks to the waiting room, looking around for the patients Nekomata has mentioned.

He stops in the doorway when he sees two men chatting among themselves, and his eyes land on a white and black mess of hair that remotely reminds of some horns, complimented by golden eyes and a wide smile. Akaashi almost laughs to himself when the picture of the man in front of him gets next to the imagine of Bokuto Koutarou he has stored in his memory, and he takes a deep breath, asking himself if it really is possible.

He's not the one injured, though, and Akaashi ignores his inner self that's demanding him to ask the name and make everything sure, so when he goes close to them, he turns to a scowling man who has some scratches on his right arm instead.

"Hello. I am Akaashi Keiji, please follow me to-"

"Akaashi Keiji?!" the man with white and black hair nearly shouts at him and when Akaashi turns to him, he's met with widened eyes and an opened mouth. "Wait, hold on!" he looks Akaashi right into eyes for a moment, then at his name card with kanji characters printed on, and smiles widely, "That's you, right? It has to be you! You went to Fukurodani elementary school for a couple of years, right? I'm Bokuto Koutarou, do you remember me?" the man in front of Akaashi is all sparkling and Akaashi feels his lips curl into a smile.

"Yes, Bokuto-san, I remember. Nice to meet you again."

"It's been forever, I can't believ-"

"My _bad_ for intruding your little reunion, but my arm is kind of bleeding and I'd really love to have something done with it," the man next to Bokuto lets out a heavy sigh and stands up.

Bokuto rolls his eyes, "It's no big deal, stop dramatizing, Kuroo."

"What if I got rabies or whatever it's called. It's tingling, you know, and it's never a good sign," the man, who seems to be called Kuroo, groans, but the look in his eyes is far from anger.

"You can't get rabies from a bird," Akaashi comments calmly, and Bokuto gives Kuroo a 'See? Told you' look, "Please follow me."

They go into a first aid room and Akaashi gestures Kuroo to sit down. Bokuto leans against the wall, his eyes following Akaashi's movements as he carefully checks the wounds.

"You are lucky it is not deep, there is no need for stitches. What happened?" he asks, looking up at Kuroo who rolls his eyes and points to Bokuto.

"This idiot saw a hurt owl and tried to catch it."

"I wanted to help!" Bokuto gestures with his hands in exasperation and puffs, "That owl's leg is hurt, I can't just leave it like this," he adds and Akaashi has to bite on his lip to suppress a smile. Here's Bokuto again, talking about owls, and it feels like all the time they haven't seen each other has somehow disappeared. Akaashi doesn't know what kind of person Bokuto's become, but he doesn't seem to be much different from old times; the warmth spreads inside Akaashi and he slowly nods to himself even though he doesn't know if he's agreeing to Bokuto's words or his own thoughts.

"So he scared the shit out of it and made it attack _me_ ," Kuroo looks up at Akaashi and lets out a deep sigh, "Stay away from this guy at any cost. He'll ruin your life," he whispers, glaring at Bokuto, but there's a little smirk playing on his lips and Akaashi lets out a short silent laugh.

"Hey!" Bokuto jumps at the comment, crossing his arms over the chest in both defence and annoyance, "Don't listen to Kuroo, he's an asshole."

Akaashi lets out another laugh.

"I will keep it in mind, thank you. It is going to hurt slightly now," he says to Kuroo before starting to clean the wounds and Kuroo whines silently at the burn. Akaashi looks at it again, then carefully puts a bandage on it. "As long as you do not scratch the scabs off, it should not leave any scars."

"Am I done then?" Kuroo looks at his arm and frowns.

"I would recommend blood test just in case, and tetanus vaccine," Akaashi takes a sticky note and writes a few numbers on it. "Please go there, you will get everything explained by Kiyoko-san. It is on the third floor, on your left when you get off the elevator," he gives the note to Kuroo and waits for him to nod, "And please do not forget about your health insurance card, show it to Tsukishima-san at the reception counter or otherwise the expenses will not be covered at all."

"You got me into so much trouble," Kuroo gives Bokuto a look and grins, "You owe me."

-

"So, what about that owl?" Akaashi offers Bokuto a plastic cup of water and sits down next to him while he's waiting for Kuroo. The hall is empty and Akaashi's aunt said she doesn't need any help now, so he found himself here, the warm presence of Bokuto calling to him.

"Thanks," Bokuto gives him a weak smile, then furrows his eyebrows, "I'll go there again a bit later. That owl seems to be new here, probably lost and scared, so she's panicking. We saw her not that long ago, and it's barely afternoon; that's definitely not the time for owl to be that active. I can't leave her like this," he takes a deep breath, then sips at the water. Akaashi hums silently in reply and they stay silent for a moment.

"Are you often around here?" he asks again and Bokuto looks up at him, "I can't believe I've never seen you." Bokuto gives him a smile, shaking his head.

"No, I've never been here before. We came to see a volleyball match in the school nearby and ended up walking a bit around after that," he thinks of something and starts laughing, "When you think about it, the owl brought us back together," he smiles at Akaashi again, "You know, it's really strange, but now that we're here, I feel like we've still been friends all this time."

Akaashi takes a deep breath, then tilts his head back, resting it against the wall. "That's true. Even though a lot of things must have changed."

Bokuto nods slowly, and it's somehow sad, then finishes the water and starts playing with the cup in his hands. It seems as if he's just trying to entertain himself, but when Akaashi casts a glare at his face, Bokuto's chewing on his lip from the inside, a shadow of nervousness in his eyes. He doesn't comment on that, focusing his eyes on a ray of sun coming through the crack of the doors. 

He stops himself from commenting on a lot of things today. On Bokuto's hairstyle, on his appearance in general, on the way he's so friendly with Kuroo and how somewhere deep inside it makes Akaashi think that he could have been there instead. On the almost unnoticeable glares Bokuto has been giving him when he's cleaned Kuroo's wounds. And on the blossom of feelings that slowly starts blooming inside him when he sees Bokuto smile. It's different from how it was in the childhood, but Akaashi's not against this change; instead, he just wants to feel more of it, see where it all goes, and check if that small blossom can become a fully blooming flower.

"Hey, Akaashi," Bokuto clears his throat, a smile back on his face, "I was wondering, can we exchange emails? That would be a pity, not hearing from you for another decade."

Akaashi lets out a puff at how Bokuto asks the question he couldn't voice out himself, then checks his pockets for the phone.

"Sure," he says, and it brings the widest of smiles on Bokuto's face.

Bokuto feels like spring coming to Akaashi's world, and it makes Akaashi smile, too, because spring has always been his favourite season.

-

Kuroo makes Bokuto bring him to the cat cafe that's not far away from the hospital.

"Aren't you cheating on your own cat?" Bokuto asks in whisper when they sit down at the little table occupied by a sleeping cat. "And why do you even know the place?"

"It's not cheating, it's like, I don't know, same as going for a massage to relax?" he laughs silently not to wake up the cat and Bokuto gives him a look, then snickers himself. 

"I'd get jealous if I were your cat," he shrugs, eyeing his drink that has whiskers drawn in chocolate on the cream, "You seem to know all the cat cafes in the whole Tokyo _and_ you go there a lot," he sighs, then closes his eyes and takes a sip, ruining the picture.

Kuroo waves his hand, shaking his head.

"I just go to these places when I really need to relax, but can't go home yet. Like now," he takes a deep breath, slowly stroking a cat that comes to his side. "So, what are you going to do about that owl?"

"Of course I'll go back. When we're done here, I'm going back. She should be a bit calmed down, there were no people around, so I'm pretty sure she's staying at the same place," Bokuto bites on his lip, then sighs heavily and lies on the ground. The cat moves from Kuroo to Bokuto and sniffs at his hair, then walks back to Kuroo, purring silently.

"What about the pretty boy?"

Bokuto opens one eye, just to see Kuroo's smirking face. "What about him?"

"I don't know, _you_ tell me," he chuckles, "When we were playing truth and dare back in school and you got to tell the name of your first love, you said that you had never realised it, but now that you think about it, it probably was a kid named Akaashi. I've always thought it was some cute girl from your class, but it was him, right?" his smirk is even wider now and Bokuto groans, rubbing his face with both hands.

"Why do you even remember it?"

"Obviously so that I could tease you," Kuroo lets out a short laugh, then narrows his eyes, looking at Bokuto.

"What?"

"You still like him?"

Bokuto sits up again, and takes a deep breath, "It's not 'still' and," he shrugs his shoulders, a slight pout appearing on his face, "I don't know."

Kuroo's eyes stay on him for a bit longer, then he looks at the cat, muttering something to her while gently rubbing behind her ear. And even though Bokuto wants him to make fun of him, to say anything, Kuroo stays silent as if he hasn't heard any of Bokuto's words.

-

"You're insane," Kuroo lets out a sigh when Bokuto shows up at their meeting spot with an owl. "How did you even catch it?"

"As much as I hate owl training, that stuff can be useful sometimes," he flashes a bright smile and the owl turns her head to the side, but stays on Bokuto's hand. "And I think she likes me. Guess it was simply you who scared her last time," he shrugs and Kuroo slightly punches him in the ribs. Owl lets out a hoot, puffing her feathers a bit. Bokuto smiles again and slowly brings his finger to owl's head, stroking it gently. "We have a bond, don't be jealous, Kuroo."

"Please just shut up," Kuroo looks at the owl, then back at Bokuto. "So, what's next?"

Bokuto gives him a wide grin, and Kuroo starts shaking his head. "You are _not_ bringing it back home."

Bokuto's grin just stretches wider.

"I called taxi. She's gonna get her first ride in a few minutes, aren't you excited for her?"

"I am _not_ getting into a car with the owl who tried to kill me," Kuroo lets out a bit choked laugh and turns to the direction of the station. "You're nuts."

"Says a person who fell off the roof saving a cat." There's a teasing note in Bokuto's voice and Kuroo finds himself laughing loudly when he turns around.

"You know, I think I'll stay just to see this owl shit on you," he says, and Bokuto laughs at his words.

"Aw, isn't that lovely of him?" he looks at the owl, an extra note of sweetness in his voice, "Kuroo cares so much about you."

"And here I thought you can't get any more ridiculous," Kuroo lets out a snort, then snickers to himself. "The taxi is coming. Is it okay though? Getting in with a bird."

Bokuto nods a few times, showing thumbs up, a smile never leaving his face, "No problems. My uncle is working for the company, and his friend is coming, so it should be okay."

"Hey, give me your phone for a second? Mine's out of battery."

Bokuto fishes the phone from his pocket, missing the little smirk on Kuroo's face, and hands it to him before going to the taxi.

Kuroo's fingers move over the screen as he follows Bokuto, and when he gets in the car, he can hardly suppress the wide grin that's threatening to creep across his face. 

It's for the good though, he says to himself, and takes a pack of tissues from his pocket, just in case handing them to Bokuto, as the car starts moving.

-

The light on Bokuto's phone is flickering when he gets it back from Kuroo when they go separate ways. He opens the chat and laughs silently. There's a message sent to Akaashi, saying that he caught the owl and if Akaashi wants to come see it one of these days.

He looks at the owl and slowly touches her head, a content sigh leaving his mouth.

"Let's go take care of your leg, okay?" he whispers, a wide smile on his face. The owl turns her head to the side and Bokuto giggles to himself.

Akaashi's reply says _I'd love to_ and Bokuto laughs again, because after all it seems that there truly is a connection between owls and luck.

\- 

It's strange how natural going to Bokuto's home feels like; Akaashi looks at his phone, then turns left, walking slowly to see if the pointer on the map is moving the right way.

He finds Bokuto's apartment quite easily, getting further away from the main street until the only sound he hears is a lazy chirping of birds in the tree. He feels as if he left Tokyo for a while, and even though the busy streets somehow calm Akaashi, the atmosphere here is good and he feels welcomed.

He goes to Bokuto's door and waits a bit before carefully knocking on them. It's so silent that for a moment he thinks that Bokuto couldn't even hear it, but the door opens and there's Bokuto's smiling face greeting him.

"Hey, Akaashi! Sorry I couldn't meet you at the station," he scratches his head and shows Akaashi in.

"It's fine, don't worry," Akaashi takes off his shoes and steps up, "Sorry for the intrusion."

Bokuto smiles at him, waiting while he looks around. It's the first time Akaashi has ever been to Bokuto's house and he can't stop the little fluttering inside himself. There's a pleasant smell in the air, Akaashi can't say what exactly it is and he doesn't see anything that could be the reason for the smell. It makes him think of laughter and happiness. It's somehow a bit nostalgic; a bit like the smell after it has rained even though it wasn't going to rain for a few days. When he looks back at Bokuto, Akaashi realizes that it's simply the smell of Bokuto, of his home, and he stores it inside his head; next to all the memories from childhood.

He looks around a bit. There's a little kitchen counter on the left and two doors on the right, most probably bathroom and toilet. There's also a door straight ahead that is open, just a bit of light coming through the curtains, and Akaashi can see a bed and bookshelf in the room. 

It looks like an ordinary apartment for one person to live in and Akaashi looks at Bokuto with questioning eyes.

"You live alone?"

"Yeah," Bokuto nods, then furrows his eyebrows, "My parents decided to move to Shizuoka where my grandparents live, so I'm renting apartment here."

"Oh," Akaashi hums silently, "Must be difficult, living on your own."

"I'm all used to it already," Bokuto smiles widely, showing thumbs up, "My parents help me and I've got a pretty nice part-time job, so it's all good!"

"Part-time job?"

"Yeah, I'm working as coach for volleyball team in a school close by. What about you, though?"

"That sounds nice. I live with my family," he gives Bokuto a small smile and looks around again, "This looks like a nice place to live."

"Oh!" Bokuto groans, "Why are we still here, let's go in. I'm so bad at these things, seriously, I just start talking and ignore everything around, sorry," Bokuto frowns a bit, seeming guilty.

"Don't worry about that," Akaashi lets out a short chuckle and Bokuto laughs, too. Having a small talk like this and getting to know a few more things about Bokuto felt nice and Akaashi enjoyed it, forgetting all about owl and feeling as if he just came to visit an old friend. 

They walk to the room that is a little bit messy, but in a cosy way; a few magazines scattered around, some Polaroid photos with Kuroo and a few other people put on the walls together with various stickers, postcards and what not. Akaashi thinks about his own room, and somehow he feels a small thorn of envy stabbing him, as there seemed to be less memories in the room where he lived for years than in one where Bokuto has probably lived for just a couple of years. It's not that he doesn't like his own room, or his memories and life in general; he loves it, but somehow when he looks at all the photos of Bokuto with Kuroo he gets that same feeling as before. He wished he was in those photos with Bokuto too, he wished he had stupid glasses or ears drawn on his pictures with silly comments, he wished one of purikura photos with extremely fake make up and cheesy backgrounds would be on his wall, too.

He always thought that he couldn't have a better life, he has a nice family, a few close friends, he's studying what he has always wanted to and no one stops him from doing what he loves most, but somehow, now when he looks at Bokuto, he feels as if his life could have been even better with Bokuto by his side.

"Here she is," Bokuto says silently and it brings Akaashi back to reality, back to the reason why he came here in the first place. The owl is sitting on the back of the chair and when Akaashi comes closer, he feels this air around her as if there's a golden aura surrounding her, and even though she's quite small and probably young, her bright yellow eyes widen when she notices Akaashi, and the warm gold aura changes to more majestic one, filled with old and wise vibes. She turns her head a bit when Bokuto walks closer to her, and starts hooting silently. Her voice is pleasant, the song almost musical and Akaashi thinks it would carry away. It's captivating and he can't look away.

Deep inside he feels like he's experienced something similar before, and when he starts going through the memories, Bokuto comes to his mind and even though Akaashi's trying to think more, Bokuto's not leaving, his golden eyes looking right at him, his golden aura filled with majestic vibes too even though he's just a kid. It was captivating, and Akaashi couldn't turn his eyes away when the boy called to him, a wide smile never leaving his face.

"Amazing," he mutters, and even though the word contains much more than just talking about the owl, Bokuto doesn't know it, he doesn't catch on a short glimpse that Akaashi gives him, and simply laughs silently, gently touching owl's head.

"Right?" he smiles, but it fades away quite soon, a worried expression settling on his face. "Her leg was a bit injured, but it's healing fast."

"Isn't that a good thing then?" Akaashi asks carefully when Bokuto bites on his lip as if keeping something away. He waits for a while, then sighs heavily, bringing his eyes to Akaashi.

"I didn't notice it at first, but there are more wounds on her back, hidden under feathers. I don't know how she got them, but she didn't do it herself," he looks back to the owl, a sad smile on his face, "Someone injured you, right?" The owl puffs her feathers a bit, narrowing her eyes, but as Bokuto slowly moves his finger, caressing the feathers on her head, she closes her eyes and calms down. "I'd say someone caught her and tried to keep her, not knowing how to take care of owls," Bokuto's voice is calm, but there's a note of anger in it, as if he's trying his best to suppress it and to not start shouting.

Akaashi looks at the owl again, at how peaceful she seems to be, at how trusting she is of Bokuto. It all makes sense now, he decides, when he thinks of someone treating her in a bad way. That's why she was so afraid of being caught, that's why she attacked Kuroo. But now, when Bokuto made sure he's not hurting her, for the first time she's treated nicely, for the first time a person shows love for her and she seems to be holding on to this weak thread of happiness.

"Are you keeping her?" 

Bokuto shakes his head.

"I'll wait until she's healed and then let her go. I don't want to take her freedom," he smiles bitterly, then adds almost inaudibly, "I don't want to make her suffer."

He sounded as if he knew what it meant to make owls suffer, but Akaashi can't imagine Bokuto hurting an owl. He doesn't know the Bokuto from now that well, but he's taking care of this owl, and the Bokuto from childhood has loved owls. It's frustrating, not knowing what exactly Bokuto's words mean, but Akaashi doesn't feel like he can ask it, at least not now, not yet. Maybe everything will clear out on its own, Akaashi hopes as he's not sure he will ever be able to ask about it himself.

"Do you want anything to drink? Coffee? Tea? Juice?" Bokuto asks, bringing Akaashi back to real life. He's smiling again, and it makes Akaashi's lips turn into a beam, too.

"Coffee would be great."

-

"Isn't that Akaashi!" Akaashi hears a bit familiar voice and when he turns around there's Kuroo greeting him with a lazy wave of a hand.

"Kuroo-san. Good morning. How is your arm?" he notices a small card in Kuroo's other hand, and adds, "And blood test?"

"No problems, all good," he gives Akaashi a wide smile that turns into a yawn. "I heard you visited Bokuto," Kuroo's lips curl into a shadow of a smirk that gets unnoticed by Akaashi, and he crosses his arms over the chest, leaning against the wall as if he's planning to stay here for a while.

"Yes, I did. That owl seems to be a lovely bird. Even though I do feel sorry that she attacked you," Akaashi lowers his eyes, but then a short laugh escapes his lips and he looks up again, "I feel like now I know everything there is to know about that owl."

"Tell me about it," Kuroo laughs, too, nodding his head a few times, " _It's not a hawk, Kuroo, it's the brown hawk owl, or actually they're split now, so it's northern boobook, how dare you. You have to get her a few grasshoppers next time you come or we won't forgive you_ ," he mocks Bokuto and they both end up laughing again. "He's amazing, right?"

"Indeed, it is impressive," Akaashi smiles, putting his hands in white coat pockets. A silent, somehow a bit sad sigh escapes his lips, but there's a glint of a smile on his lips when he opens his mouth again, "When I see him like this, I always wonder what it would have been like to have him around all the time," he takes a deeper breath, then the smile disappears and he frowns slightly, "I am sorry for saying it out of nowhere, it just slipped off my tongue-"

"No, no, it's okay, I get you," Kuroo looks at Akaashi, and there's so much warmth in his eyes that Akaashi finds it difficult to connect this expression to the usual sly smirk resting on the taller man's face. "No worries, though, you'll get to know it soon."

Akaashi gives him a questioning look and that sly smirk from before gets back to its place on Kuroo's face, "You two look like all those years were just a few days, I don't think that either of you will throw everything away now that you met again," he shrugs, "and you know the saying," he waves around with his hand, rolling his eyes a bit as if Akaashi should understand everything from gestures only, but then gives up and uses words instead, "Nothing happens for no reason, right?" he winks, as if knowing more to the story, and Akaashi finds himself at loss of words. Kuroo lets out a short laugh, then straightens up and gets a bit closer to Akaashi, his fingers taking Akaashi's name tag, "Akaashi Keiji. That's a nice name," he chuckles when Akaashi thanks him with a bit confused look on his face. "I told you to stay away from Bokuto, but I guess it's all for the better," he shrugs, "Want to go somewhere together with me and Bokuto?" he asks and Akaashi thinks for a moment.

"It would be nice," he says and Kuroo shows thumbs up, then it changes to peace sign when he says goodbye, all of this reminding Akaashi of Bokuto. He hasn't spend that much time with either of them but he can already notice some things that both Kuroo and Bokuto do the same - be it thumbs up or peace signs with a smile or the way they laugh. It's somehow endearing, and Akaashi looks at his own hand, thinking when was the last time he used thumbs up or peace sign himself. He curls his fingers, then carefully straightens two of them, a weak peace sign in front of his eyes. He could get used to it, he thinks, and somehow, even though he still feels a bit confused about Kuroo and everything he has said, deep inside he feels a bit happier than on a usual day.


	2. -ii-

Both of them are done with mid-terms and aren't that busy anymore. Bokuto's at home most of the time, going only to a few of the lectures where attendance is very important and usually skipping the ones where it makes up only 10% of final grade. He's also lucky to have a couple on-demand lectures that he can do online at home. 

It's not that Bokuto doesn't like going to university or his classes are boring; he just wants to spend more time with the owl, afraid to leave her alone for longer period of time. He uses this as a reason to make Kuroo come to visit him too, and also doing the same with Akaashi, who starts coming to Bokuto's place after lectures quite often as it happens to be less than half an hour ride from his university. 

When Akaashi's sitting on the floor, his back against Bokuto's bed, he briefly stops reading, lifting his eyes to look at Bokuto who busies himself in the kitchen making yakisoba. It's cool in the room as Bokuto keeps his aircon on +22°C even though Akaashi has told him a few times that the difference between temperature outside and inside shouldn't be that big. Akaashi puts his book down, and puts on his sweater, Bokuto letting out a short laugh when he notices it. 

"If it's so cold, just change the temperature," he says but Akaashi just shakes his head, saying that he's fine. He doesn't really feel cold, but he likes the pleasant warmth that surrounds him when he puts on the sweater. It's +31°C outside but he's still wearing long trousers, and when he looks at Bokuto's bare legs, his shorts not even reaching his knees, it makes him think of spring again, and also, this time, of summer. 

It's the warmth in Bokuto's presence that makes this comparison stay in Akaashi's head, it's the tan on his skin and sun in his eyes that make him remember it every time they meet, and Akaashi takes a deeper breath when he comes to conclusion that if spring were a person it would definitely be Bokuto. He thinks for a bit longer, then adds a bit more detailed information on this picture in his head. Maybe it's not the whole spring, maybe it's second part of it or maybe only last month when the season starts changing into summer, when the weather becomes hotter, but there are still some white clouds that sometimes let you rest from scorching rays of sun that's already getting into summer mode. 

He looks at Bokuto again and covers his mouth when a silent laugh escapes his lips because in a way Bokuto's white hair could be those clouds in Akaashi's mind. 

Bokuto brings two plates of yakisoba, giving one to Akaashi, then casts a look at the owl. 

"Do you mind if I give her food? She's already awake." 

"No, it's okay, you don't need to ask," Akaashi shrugs slightly, taking his chopsticks and waiting for Bokuto to sit in front of him at the low table on the floor. Bokuto grins, then a laugh escapes his mouth. 

"I don't want you to faint when you see beetles," he jokes and Akaashi frowns a bit at the thought, but then lets out a sigh. 

"I can take that much, Bokuto-san. I held beetles in my hands numerous times, it's nothing scary," he says and a bit proud smile curls at his lips. 

"Oh, really?" Bokuto's grin widens and he plops down, getting his chopsticks, too. "Well then, I believe she would be happy to be fed by you, " Bokuto turns to the owl that just turns her head a bit to the side, "It's worth waiting a little bit, right?" 

Akaashi lets out a puff, then shrugs again, "Bokuto-san, you can just say that you're scared to do it yourself." 

"Hey, what was that?" Bokuto narrows his eyes, glaring at Akaashi suspiciously, "What's with this way of talking? Did you get infected from Kuroo?" he gasps, then starts laughing. "He's such a bad influence," he laughs again, then starts eating, and Akaashi does the same. 

Eating together feels so natural as if they've been doing it every day for years, and Bokuto can't believe it's been only a couple of weeks since they've met again. 

_You still like him?_

Kuroo's question comes back to his mind, and Bokuto bites on his lip. It's funny how the kid he was friends with in elementary school can make him feel so warm inside now, years after it. He did say that Akaashi was his first love, but he had never realised it himself when he was a kid. In fact, he doesn't think he was in love with Akaashi back then; how could he when he didn't know a thing about love and thought that there were only two types of love - love that his married parents shared or love as friendship. Akaashi was a friend back then, and Bokuto never thought of holding hands with him or giving him a kiss. 

It all happened in middle school. There was this one girl, who started getting friendly with him, giving him more attention, giving him more smiles and looks until she got enough courage to confess her feelings. She was a nice girl, a pretty one and good natured, making it easy to get along with. But when Bokuto heard her asking him out, somehow without thinking much, he said he likes someone else. Was it a girl from their school, she asked and Bokuto shook his head because the person who came to his mind was Akaashi. 

It wasn't Akaashi from the past that he liked, it was the thought of Akaashi; the imagine he created in his mind to make everything easier when suddenly his friends started getting girlfriends and Bokuto realised that he's not interested in them. Bokuto started using the line "I like someone else" more and more, even thought that someone else was just a perfected idea in his head. 

That's why he can't say he still likes Akaashi, that's why he doesn't know himself. He didn't know if he liked the Akaashi that stood in front of him in the hospital because he knew nothing about him. But somehow, the more time they spend together, the more Akaashi fits that someone else in Bokuto's head, and it makes him a bit nervous. 

There was another thing Bokuto idealised in his head that much and it all seemed perfect at first, but eventually had changed. Being with Akaashi reminds him of owl training and he's scared that just the way he had to quit that, he might need to stop being with Akaashi, too. 

"Thanks for the meal," Akaashi says silently, bringing Bokuto back to real life. He looks at his own plate, then finishes it quickly and says the same. 

He stands up, bringing plates to the sink and coming back with a beetle in his hand, giving it to Akaashi. Bokuto kind of expects him to back off and say he was joking, but Akaashi carefully takes the beetle between his fingers, then looks up at Bokuto. 

"Can I just give her it like this?" 

Bokuto nods, but when Akaashi gets closer, the owl puffs her feathers, turning her head to Bokuto as if asking for help. 

"She's scared," Akaashi whispers more to himself and takes a step back, looking at Bokuto, "I'm sorry," his lips get into a tight line and he gives the beetle back to Bokuto, a rather sad expression on his face. 

"It's not your fault," Bokuto gives him a small smile and tries giving the beetle to owl himself. The owl hesitates for a while, but finally eats it. 

Bokuto feels a bit as if owl is not acknowledging his feelings for Akaashi, but he tries to convince himself that maybe he's just imagining things. 

\- 

Next time Kuroo tries feeding the owl and when it ends up the same, Bokuto feels a little bit better. 

"Say, what's the history with Akaashi?" Kuroo asks later when they're lying on the bed, enjoying the cool breeze from air conditioner. There's an almost finished book left on the desk that for sure doesn't belong to Bokuto, and a little grin makes its way to Kuroo's face. 

"We went to elementary school together. Well, he's one year younger, but still," Bokuto takes a deep breath, then lets out a long sigh, raising his hands in the air and looking at them for a while, "We played volleyball together a bit. I think I asked him to join the club, but he never did. He'd only agree to play two of us from time to time," he brings his hands back down and puts his arms under his head, "Anyway, he transferred to other school after second year because his family moved, and we never met again." 

"Sad ending," Kuroo sighs, turning his head to look at Bokuto, "Couldn't you just, I don't know, visit each other?" 

Bokuto lets out a bit bitter laugh. 

"Wish you told me this back then," he shrugs, "You know how being a kid is. You don't realise such things. We just thought that we're still going to see each other a lot and all. But during spring break I went to my grandparents house and such, and then somehow it never happened." 

"You sound like an old man," Kuroo laughs, but his laughter dies quite fast, "But that's true. It's always like this. I'm hurt though," an exaggerated note is in Kuroo's voice and Bokuto looks at him from the corner of his eye, "I've know you since middle school and you've never told me about Keiji-kun," he laughs and Bokuto rolls his eyes. 

"Never came up," he shows his tongue and laughs loudly, "Well, now you know. And don't call him like that." 

"Like what?" Kuroo smirks and Bokuto rolls his eyes again. 

"Oh wow it looks like you never graduated from middle school," he slightly punches Kuroo in the ribs, then adds, "Keiji-kun. Don't call him like this." 

The name sounds nice coming from Kuroo, and Bokuto frowns a bit as a thorn of jealousy stings him a bit. But at the same time it sounds strange, it doesn't really fit and it makes Bokuto feel as if they're making fun of Akaashi. 

"It's a nice name," Kuroo yawns, closing his eyes. "Makes me want to know more about this pretty boy," he says, then opens one eye and looks at Bokuto, "No worries, I'm not interested in him," he laughs, then bumps his shoulder against Bokuto's, "I'm only supporting you." 

"Oh shut up," Bokuto groans and Kuroo laughs again. 

"You're welcome." 

\- 

Akaashi looks at the watch six minutes before his last train and curses silently. 

"You're not gonna make it," Bokuto mutters, and stands in a doorway. 

"I can run," Akaashi gets his bag and stands in front of Bokuto, "Please move, Bokuto-san." 

"I'm not letting you go. It takes at least five minutes to the station if you run, _and_ you can't get to your line in one minute," he looks at the clock and shrugs, a little smile on his face, "and now only five minutes are left." 

Akaashi bites on his lip, clutching his bag harder. He looks a bit guilty, as if blaming himself for causing trouble. He thinks for a moment, then takes a deep breath and looks at Bokuto. "I'll just take a taxi." 

Bokuto shakes his head, "It'll cost too much," he takes the bag from Akaashi's hands and puts it back on the bed, "It's Friday, there are no classes tomorrow. Just stay here. There's a futon on top of mattress, so it's all good, no problems." 

It takes almost ten minutes to persuade Akaashi, and finally he agrees to stay if he's the one sleeping on the floor. He reminds Bokuto of an owl, the way he looks away as if he's not interested and wants to be left alone, the way he curls under blanket, saying good night, and his black hair looks a bit more fluffy splattered on the pillow around his head. Actually, he looks more like a cat, but once, when Bokuto was talking with Kuroo, they came to conclusion that owls are like cats with wings, and if you ask Bokuto, there's definitely a pair of wings on Akaashi's back. 

How could he fly away so fast and come back out of nowhere otherwise, Bokuto asks himself and smiles when the answer just backs up his theory about Akaashi being like an owl. 

Akaashi falls asleep quite fast, his breathing slow and calming, but Bokuto can't get sleepy enough even though he's trying to breathe at the same rhythm as Akaashi. Usually that helps to fool yourself that you're almost sleeping, but it's not working tonight. 

The owl hoots silently as if knowing that Bokuto's awake and he moves slowly to the edge of his bed from where he can reach her. 

"Hey, my dear," he whispers, extending his arm to touch her head, "Not sleepy? I can't fall asleep either," he sighs and owl hoots in reply, making him chuckle silently. "You see, Akaashi's staying over," he points to sleeping Akaashi, a warm smile curling at his lips. He stays silent for a while, then takes a deeper breath, "I'll tell you a secret, okay?" he gets even closer, his voice gentle, a bit husky, and even if you didn't see him in the dark you could tell that he's smiling. "I think I like him a lot," he says, leaning forward and touching owl's little bluish-black bill with his nose, "Don't be scared of him, he's not going to hurt you," Bokuto lets out a little laugh, "Have you seen him holding that beetle? With those long delicate fingers of his, I thought he will drop it," he covers his mouth trying to suppress the laughter and takes a deep breath. He stays still looking at the owl until he can see her almost clearly in the dark, then sighs deeply, "What am I going to do, huh? What if he runs away?" he casts a glare at Akaashi again, then looks back at the owl. Her eyes are closed now and Bokuto imagines a soft purring of a cat. It makes him smile. "Time to sleep, right?" 

Owl opens her eyes again, letting out a silent hoot. Bokuto thinks for a moment, then leans again, planting a gentle kiss on her forehead. 

"Good night to you too." 

\- 

Tsukishima puts the DVD in and takes the remote control, going back and sitting next to Akaashi on the floor. 

Akaashi looks at the screen and smiles. 

"Jurassic Park? We've already seen it numerous times." 

Tsukishima rolls his eyes. 

"It's the new one. Jurassic World. We haven't watched it yet," he explains and Akaashi hums, nodding his head. "Also, I'm almost finished with those series you lent me, so I'll bring it back next week. Are you coming to hospital?" 

Akaashi thinks for a while, then nods. 

"I should come on Tuesday. We have a creative writing assignment that can be done at home, so there's no need to go to class," he stretches and gets into more comfortable position. 

"Hey," Tsukishima mutters and Akaashi looks up at him, raising his eyebrows, "are you still meeting with Bokuto?" he looks serious for a second, but then his usual grin appears again. 

"Yes," Akaashi inhales deeply and sighs, smiling slightly, "It somehow makes me really happy." 

Tsukishima snorts and Akaashi tries to push him to the side, but it doesn't work, making Tsukishima's grin widen. "Why did you never try checking his old home or just looking him up in the lists? Could have worked," he sighs, looking at Akaashi. 

Akaashi shrugs, bringing his knees to his chest and resting his chin on them. 

"It didn't feel right," he bites on his lip, thinking, "I didn't know if he even remembers me, and to be honest I didn't think about him that much," he smiles a bit sadly, "only when some things, usually owls, would remind me of him," he looks at Tsukishima who rolls his eyes. 

"I see," he mutters, then brings his eyes back to the screen and presses the button to start the film. Akaashi's eyes stay on Tsukishima a bit longer, wondering what Tsukishima thinks about all this, but at the same time he's glad that he's not saying anything. He sees the little smile curl at Tsukishima's lips when the film starts, and looks at the screen himself. It's been a while since Tsukishima visited him, and Akaashi decides to stop thinking about other things and just spend time with his friend. 

\- 

"Why are you not naming her?" Akaashi asks a couple of days later when Bokuto sits on the ground trying to feed the owl that's sitting on his finger. It's late and Akaashi gets up, starting to put all his stuff back to the bag. Bokuto watches him for a moment, then takes a deep breath. 

"There was this film I saw on TV once," he starts and Akaashi stops briefly at the sad note in Bokuto's voice. He closes his bag and sits down again, his eyes set on Bokuto. "There was this class and they started taking care of a piglet," he sighs and Akaashi slightly furrows his eyebrows. 

"A piglet?" 

Bokuto lets out a bitter laugh, nodding his head. 

"Yeah, a little cute piglet. The whole deal was that they're going to take care of it and in the end eat it. It was, you know, kind of interactive learning thing. And even so, they gave it a name. Why would you give a name to a piglet that you're planning to _eat_?" Bokuto scowls, biting on his lip as if to stop himself from saying more. 

Akaashi stays silent for a while, then stands up. 

"You're not going to eat this owl," he says almost inaudibly. Bokuto looks up at him, a small smile appearing on his face. 

"Giving a name means getting attached. And it makes it more difficult to let go later on." 

"Fair enough," Akaashi says and gives a soft beam in return. "I'll be going, Bokuto-san." 

"Right," Bokuto nods to himself, then also stands up and comes closer to Akaashi. "Want me to walk you to the station?" 

"I'm fine, thanks. Good night, Bokuto-san." 

"Good night, Akaashi. Take care and text me when you're home." 

"It's not that late yet, but okay," Akaashi smiles, and carefully extends his arm. He hesitates for a moment, but finally slowly touches owl's head. "Good night to you too, cutie," he whispers and owl closes her eyes as if understanding every word. He lets out a short soft happy laugh, lifting his eyes to meet Bokuto's for a second, then slowly brushes his finger down her feathers, just how he saw Bokuto doing dozens of times before. It feels wonderful and he'd like to do the same over and over again, but he makes himself stop and turns around, putting on his shoes and waving goodbye before leaving. Bokuto gives him a peace sign, and after letting an amused puff Akaashi returns the gesture. 

Bokuto keeps on smiling even after closing the doors. The last time Akaashi tried to feed the owl, she got scared, but now it's all different. She seemed relaxed, she accepted Akaashi and Bokuto can't stop himself from smiling. It's the first time the owl liked being touched by someone besides Bokuto himself, and he gets his phone, sending a message to Kuroo saying that the owl loves Akaashi more than Kuroo. He feels like the owl understood everything he told her a few days ago, and after a bit of thinking decided that she supports him too. 

When his phone beeps, he doesn't get the reaction he wanted and instead of a grin he ends up with a blush when Kuroo's message says that after all pets really are same as their owners, followed by a wink smile. 

\- 

_I'm home._

It's just a message, Akaashi knows it, but somehow sending it to Bokuto feels as if he comes back to the home where Bokuto's waiting for him, even though the reply he gets back is not the usual 'Welcome back', but a simple 'Great!' 

But maybe that's what it makes it feel the way it does. Maybe that's what makes Akaashi smile when he reads the message. He turns on the air conditioner in his room, but even though his skin is getting a bit cold, he feels warm inside, warmer than usually and when he tries to think of a reason, his mind gives him the explanation that probably it's the summer coming to him. 

That coming summer with the name of Bokuto makes it harder to fall asleep that night. It comes to Akaashi's head the moment he closes his eyes, followed by a faint smile that he hides in the pillow. He remembers the things he read about dreaming and thinking, about how you can't sleep because you're awake in someone else's dream, and deep inside he hopes that it's Bokuto who's keeping him awake. After all, the other belief about dreaming is, that if you think about a certain person, he ends up dreaming about you. 

It's all connected and even though it might not make sense in scientific way, Akaashi has never thought of himself as scientist, and he chooses to believe the explanation that makes the smile stay on his face even longer. 

\- 

"I tried letting her go," Bokuto lets out a heavy sigh when they're sitting at the table in the cafe. Akaashi slightly furrows his eyebrows, opening his mouth to say something, but Kuroo is faster. 

"And?" he says, but there's no teasing smile on his face. He looks worried as he stops playing with a tissue in his hands and sets his eyes on Bokuto. 

Bokuto's laughter is a mix of happiness and bitterness, and there's a note of sadness and worry in it. 

"She didn't go." 

"Is it impossible to let her stay with you?" Akaashi asks and Kuroo furrows his eyebrows as if knowing something more, then relaxes them and takes a deep breath, "You see, Bokuto-" 

"I want to let her live freely," Bokuto interupts, "But she doesn't understand that she can leave, she's scared," he smiles bitterly, shrugging his shoulders, "I'd love if she stayed but I'm not forcing her to. I want to let her choose, and as much as I want to have her by my side, at the same time I think that living in the nature would make her happier." 

"She's not going to be treated that nice out there," Kuroo comments and Bokuto rolls his eyes. 

"Living is not only about being treated nice," he says, making Kuroo laugh at how wise Bokuto tries to sound. Akaashi lowers his head, hiding a little smile because those words sound very similar to what's written in the book he left at Bokuto's place. "Well, it's her life, so she gets to choose. I'll just give her right conditions to do so," he lets out a deep sigh, then looks at the counter. "Our drinks are ready, 'm gonna grab them." Bokuto stands up and Akaashi looks at him, the smile from before still on his lips, but now it's reaching his eyes, too. 

"I told you not to get involved with this guy," Kuroo teases when Bokuto goes to get their drinks and Akaashi's eyes follow him, "but you seriously just ignored the whole warning to the fullest." 

Akaashi moves his eyes to Kuroo, raising his eyebrows, "I am sorry, Kuroo-san, but I believe you were the one who sent me the message and started everything," he lets out a puff at Kuroo's widened eyes, "Bokuto-san told me. Doesn't that make your warning invalid?" 

"Rude," Kuroo laughs, then shrugs, "Can't sit and do nothing when I see a game that's asking to be played." 

Akaashi gives him a look and Kuroo laughs again, his trade smirk settling on his face. "I'm not telling him, no worries," he says just above whisper right before Bokuto gets back, holding three plastic cups, half a dozen packs of sugar in between his teeth. 

"How can you add four sugars to latte?" Kuroo lets out a deep sigh, shaking his head, "Just take something else instead of trying to cover the taste of coffee with sugar." 

"Oh please, if you want to try it, just ask," Bokuto shows Kuroo his tongue, laughing. They get back to talking about this and that, and somehow Akaashi feels in the right place even though he missed all the years Bokuto and Kuroo were friends. The more time Akaashi spends with them, the more same things he notices about them. Things that make both of them roll their eyes at, same slang words they use, same phrases and sentence structures influenced by each other. Sometimes they get each other without words, and at those times Akaashi starts thinking that maybe telepathy really works. 

"So I was thinking," Kuroo drawls and Bokuto's reaction is immediate. 

"Yes!" 

Akaashi tries asking them what's going on, but they just grin at him, saying that he just has to wait and he'll see for himself. 

\- 

There's a new purikura photo on Akaashi's table that evening. In one of the frames all three of them have cat ears that Kuroo has insisted on drawing, and there's also a frame with only Bokuto and Akaashi in it. They both look a bit surprised, but there's a little smile on Akaashi's face and Bokuto's laughing, one of his hands pointing down and other holding Akaashi's arm. Kuroo slipped right the moment before the photo was taken and ended up on the floor where the camera couldn't reach. Akaashi's not sure if it was an accident or he made it on purpose, but either way when he looks at the photo, he finds himself smiling, the place where Bokuto's fingers wrapped around his arm burning a little bit as if the summer sun has decided to pamper that spot a bit more. 

\- 

Akaashi stops in the narrow street close to Bokuto's apartment, taking a deep breath. After a few minutes Bokuto comes with owl and sits at the back of the car. 

"Hey," he says and Akaashi hums in reply, his eyes travelling to owl on Bokuto's hand. 

"Are you sure it's okay? If we ruined the rented car, we'll get in a lot of trouble." 

Bokuto shakes his head, a small smile on his face. 

"It's alright. Just go a bit slower and then leave everything else to me," he shows thumbs up, then gently pats the owl's head, a bit sadder expression appearing on his face, "Thanks a lot for doing this. It's a bit too far for taxi, and Kuroo is out of town with camp, and both Kenma and Konoha don't have driver's license." Akaashi furrows his eyebrows at names he doesn't know that well. He heard those names before when Kuroo and Bokuto were talking between themselves, and he guesses that they are two other people in the photos on Bokuto's wall, one shorter guy that's always close to Kuroo, and another one with a smirk and mischievous look in his eyes. He doesn't ask about either of them, deciding that it's not the right time. 

"No problem, I'm glad I can help," Akaashi tries smiling but his lips don't want to move. He takes another deep breath, looks at Bokuto for approving nod and starts the engine. 

It takes more than an hour to leave the city and get to the place that Bokuto has chosen. The owl stays calm all the way, her eyes closed, maybe in slumber, and Bokuto caresses her head almost without any breaks as if trying to get everything he can before she leaves. 

"It's a lovely place," Akaashi comments, lifting his head to look at the trees when they stand at the edge of the forest. 

"I know, right? I thought she would love it here," Bokuto smiles widely, but it seems like his smile will crumble any second; it doesn't reach his eyes, and his hand that he's not holding the owl with is trembling slightly. 

Akaashi decides to wait at the edge of the forest, letting Bokuto spend some time with owl alone. He's noticed how much Bokuto likes talking to her, and he's sure there are things he wants to tell her without anyone listening. 

He can see Bokuto smiling gently at the owl, whispering some things to her and extending his arm to let her fly. She looks a bit confused, her head turning around, trying to get in everything around her. He can hear Bokuto letting out a hoot similar to the owl's and then after a moment he hears her trying to hoot, too, and how her voice carries away just the way Akaashi has always imagined, making him remember the first time he saw her. 

They look like they're supposed to spend the life together, and Akaashi can feel the lump forming in his throat. 

Bokuto mutters something to the owl, then turns to Akaashi and owl does the same. There are four little suns shining in the forest, and Akaashi raises his hand to wave. He tries to smile, focusing his eyes on suns on owl's face, then letting them travel to the left, where two more suns are looking straight into his eyes. They're blurry, though, and Akaashi wants to run to Bokuto and brush the tears away from his eyes, telling him that the owl is not leaving, that they're just having a walk in the forest and it's time to go home. 

But Bokuto looks away, he looks at the owl, then moves his hand a bit up, telling her something again. She spreads her wings, then closes them again, waiting. Bokuto bends his arm, leaning forward and placing his lips on her head for a moment. 

When he extends his arm again, the owl hoots, and then, with a few wingbeats she's gone. 

Bokuto stands there for while, then gets back with his head lowered. 

"She's gone," he mutters, and when he lifts his head, the summer suns are gone from his face too, and there's only rain there, salty rain covering the light and going down his cheeks. 

A wide smile makes its way to Bokuto's face as if it doesn't hurt, as if he's perfectly fine. Akaashi takes a step closer, opening his arms, and without thinking Bokuto comes to him, letting his head fall on Akaashi's shoulder. 

"She's gone, Akaashi. She will be happy like this, right?" 

Akaashi lets his hand go to Bokuto's head, and slowly strokes his hair. 

"She will," he says, then takes in a bit shaky breath, "I'm sure she will." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The film that Bokuto was talking about is called "School Days with a Pig (ブタがいた教室, Buta ga ita Kyōshitsu)" and is based on real story ;_;


	3. -iii-

Bokuto's mood gets a bit better on the way back, he even calls Kuroo, telling him that the owl is free and happy, and that he's happy too. They go to car renting point together, even though Akaashi offers to drop Bokuto at his home on the way.

It's only when they have to take different trains that Bokuto bites on his lip, and smile leaves his face.

"Hey, Akaashi," he mutters, lowering his eyes, "Couldn't you come home with me? If it's not a bother."

Akaashi nods without thinking, then voices out his answer as Bokuto's keeping his head down.

"Of course, Bokuto-san. I'm glad you asked."

A weak smile is back, and Bokuto thanks Akaashi, both of them slowly making their way to the train, a light conversation about Kuroo and his camp continuing all the way until Bokuto's apartment.

"Sorry for making you come all the way here," Bokuto sighs, sitting on the floor. He's down, sad and worried, at the moment outer world not existing for him, and somehow Akaashi has never imagined him looking like this. It hurts him too, but somewhere deep inside himself Akaashi finds the flower from before that opens a bit wider; Bokuto decides to show this side of him to Akaashi and as much as Akaashi wishes Bokuto would be fine, it all gives a few drops to the glass that waters that blossom inside him.

"It's okay, don't worry," Akaashi looks at Bokuto, who's hugging his knees, and takes a deep breath, "I'll make some milk tea," he says, and Bokuto nods, staying silent.

While water is boiling, Akaashi takes out the low table and sets it in front of Bokuto, who's resting his head on the bed, looking at ceiling. When tea is ready and Akaashi gives one cup to Bokuto, his eyes are watery, and he barely takes a few sips before putting the cup down and sighing.

"I'm sorry, I guess I don't feel very well." His voice is shaky, and he blinks a few times, trying to stop the tears, then looks down.

"Do you want me to leave?"

"No," he lifts his head, looking at Akaashi with pleading eyes, "I mean. Please stay. If it's okay." Akaashi nods, and Bokuto nods back at him, then looks around, "I'll just rest for a few minutes and I'll be alright," he stands up and sits on the bed, then lies down and turns his back to Akaashi.

Akaashi drinks his tea in silence, thinking about the owl. He wishes the owl didn't leave. He's read stories about birds coming back, but he's afraid to say it to Bokuto and see his disappointed face when it doesn't happen. Even though the tea is with milk, suddenly it tastes bitter, and he can hardly swallow a few sips. He looks at Bokuto, then puts the cup down and stands up. He texts his mother that he's at Bokuto's place, telling her not to worry if he doesn't get back soon, then goes to Bokuto.

"Bokuto-san," he whispers, sitting down on the edge of the bed, but suddenly he doesn't know how to start and what to say. He looks at Bokuto's wide back that's a bit crouched now. He remembers how Bokuto would talk to the owl all the time without no more than hoots and turns of head in reply, and decides that maybe he doesn't really need any words.

He lies down next to Bokuto and carefully touches his back, then slowly moves his fingers up, touching his shoulders and neck, taking strands of his hair between his fingers. He doesn't know what he's doing, it feels as if he's calming down himself, not Bokuto who needs it more, and he curses inside his head, asking himself why he could never learn how to talk to hurt people from his aunt. He has decided not to use words, but somehow he wants to say something, to tell Bokuto that he's here and it's going to be alright. He tries to remember all the things he read in books, all the words that different characters would say in similar situations, but not a single quote fits here, they all seem lacking, and he doesn't dare to use any of them. 

He presses his forehead against Bokuto's nape, a silent sigh leaving his lips.

"It's going to be alright," he whispers. He gives up on high words and too well thought out phrases, and says the first thing that comes to his head, the thing that he wants to believe in himself. He feels like he's lying though because it's definitely not alright now and he doesn't know _when_ everything's going to be alright, so he takes a deeper breath, and repeats himself, "Eventually it's going to be alright."

Bokuto turns around to face him and sniffs, a shadow of smile appearing on his wet with tears face, "You're not really good at this," he sighs, then without second thought wraps his arms around Akaashi.

Akaashi stays still for a second, closing his eyes at how stupid he is, then brings his arms around Bokuto and pulls him closer. 

"I'm sorry," Akaashi whispers, "I'm not sure what to do," he admits, and Bokuto slightly shakes his head. 

"Nothing," he mutters as he gets even closer to Akaashi and searches for haven in his warmth. Akaashi reminds him of owl again, but this time he hopes he won't use his wings. He thinks for a while, then decides to make sure Akaashi doesn't fly away at least for now. 

"Nothing," he repeats, "Just stay like this."

-

Akaashi wakes up when it's already dark, one of his arms numb and other around Bokuto who's sleeping. He doesn't remember when they fell asleep, and he doesn't know why he woke up now when he's still feeling so sleepy. He yawns, looking around. The light on his phone is flickering and he wonders if it was the message that woke him up. The phone is far away though, and he decides he can check it later, and tries to get comfortable in the bed.

A silent hoot comes from outside and Bokuto sits straight up in the bed, his eyes wide open.

"Did you hear that?" he whispers and Akaashi nods. Sometimes in summer he can hear hoots outside his windows too, and he opens his mouth to say to Bokuto that they will stop soon and they should go to bed, but this mind starts working again and he widens his eyes, looking at Bokuto.

Owl. He blinks a few times and shakes his head because it can't be true, it happens only in books and Bokuto shouldn't expect anything. 

There's another hoot, louder this time, somewhere closer, and Bokuto jumps from the bed, hurrying to open the doors to balcony. The hooting sounds like a well known melody, it's carrying away and Akaashi sits up too, then walks to Bokuto who silently, then in a bit louder voice hoots back.

"I'm here," Bokuto says and extends his arm. He repeats it a few times, after each hooting he hears, and when after a couple of minutes the owl comes and sits on his fingers, Akaashi thinks that he's dreaming.

Bokuto looks at him, a wide smile on his face, his slightly swollen eyes shining in the weak light of a few street lamps around.

"She came back, Akaashi," he laughs and the suns in his eyes are back, even though they're a bit blurry again, "She found her way back," he takes a deep breath, blinking away the happy tears, letting Akaashi enjoy the view of shining suns again.

Akaashi smiles at Bokuto and takes in a deep breath, "She's not leaving," he says, looking at both of them, at those four suns in their eyes that he missed so much even though he hasn't seen them only for less than one day. Bokuto nods and Akaashi can't help himself but laugh. "See? I told you it's going to be alright," he says, giggling, and Bokuto laughs at him.

"Yeah, you did."

-

Kuroo says that they're imagining things when Bokuto tells him the full story, but there's a warm smile on his face and Bokuto laughs, telling him to not be jealous that he wasn't there to see it himself.

"Maybe it's better this way," Kuroo laughs back, "Now you've got not only one, but two owls by your side," he says, "and I don't mean the one that came back because it was obvious from the start that she won't leave," he adds, grinning, then laughs again as Bokuto's cheeks get red.

"You're so mean, teasing me like this," Bokuto mutters and Kuroo shrugs.

"I'm not, I'm just telling the truth. You know that Akaashi likes you back, so what's the big deal?" he comes closer to the owl, narrowing his eyes at her, then slowly touches her head.

"I'm not hundred percent sure."

" _Please_ ," Kuroo groans, looking back at Bokuto. "I could bet my month's salary that he likes you back."

"I'm not betting on this," Bokuto takes a deep breath and rubs his face, "Okay. Okay, maybe _I'm_ sure. But he's still hesitating."

Kuroo turns around and gets back to him, putting his arm on Bokuto's shoulders, a grin on his face.

"Then make him not."

-

"What are you reading?" Bokuto watches from the doorway as Akaashi opens the next page.

"Poetry."

"What is it about?" 

Akaashi lets his lips curl into a smallest of smiles and lets out a silent sigh, "About love."

"Is it interesting?" Bokuto walks to Akaashi and sits next to him, a grin on his face.

"I'm not sure," the smile on Akaashi's face is changed with a little frown, and he bites on his lip, trying to decide what's the best way to explain himself, "Rather than the poetry itself, I'm interested in what's behind it." Bokuto furrows his eyebrows, and it's somehow lovely; reading Bokuto is more interesting than reading poetry, and it makes Akaashi put down the book, "I learned about this one psychology concept before, and I guess it changed my view. It said that a person who's happily in love couldn't write good poetry about it because he already expresses everything through love itself. Not only poetry though, but it's easiest to understand this way," he gives a small smile and Bokuto nods slowly. "While the person who's in love but cannot enjoy it with the one they love, could express all those stored feelings in writing, making the poetry contain all the love they have." 

Bokuto lets out a soft hum, then nods again.

"So now, when I'm reading poetry, I end up thinking about the person who wrote it."

"Isn't it sad though?" Bokuto asks, leaning back and letting out a heavy sigh, "If you read something really good, it means that person was suffering."

"But isn't it fascinating how people can create something beautiful out of suffering?" 

Bokuto thinks for a while, then turns to face Akaashi, his eyes looking right into Akaashi's, making him feel as if Bokuto can read his mind, and it makes him avert his glare, focusing it on the book in his hands instead. Bokuto remembers Kuroo's words, thinking hardly about what he has said. He takes a deep breath.

"Akaashi?" Bokuto almost whispers, and Akaashi trembles slightly inside at the way funny and loud Bokuto changes to serious. It's not a bad thing, not at all; Akaashi just can't figure out how Bokuto can have all of this in himself at the same time, how he can reach extremes if he needs, but at the same time be the golden middle everyone's always searching for.

Bokuto tilts his head to catch Akaashi's glare again and even though Akaashi wants to avert his eyes again, something keeps him looking back at Bokuto. "Yes?"

There's a weak smile on Bokuto's face, but his eyes look worried. He licks his lips, as if still thinking if he should tell Akaashi what he's about to, as if that is going to change everything and he's not sure if he's ready to bear responsibility for it.

"I hope you'll never be able to write great poetry," he finally says, and there's a shadow of fear on his face. 

Akaashi smiles, but it's a bit sad and Bokuto doesn't know if he likes it.

"It's not me who decides that, Bokuto-san," he says, and his voice is calm as ever even though it's a lie, even though suddenly the flower inside himself asks him not to shade it from the sun. And that's stupid because that's not how it's supposed to be, that's not what he's supposed to say. Because the reason for his 'great poetry' could be only Bokuto himself, but the thing is, Akaashi's the one making Bokuto to be that reason. He knows the feelings are mutual, but he's too scared to make a mistake and jump into the vortex of commitment and find that Bokuto's moving ahead, leaving him there alone after a little while. It seems that the spring of Bokuto is becoming summer far too fast for Akaashi to follow, his senses still used to just a bit of warmth more than to full heat that scorches your skin, the humidity that surrounds your whole body, touching every corner of it. And Akaashi's a bit scared because after saying those words he realises that the reason why he always liked spring more that other seasons is not only because of weather and nature, but because that's when he met Bokuto for the first time, and that's what he started comparing Bokuto to.

But it's summer when they meet again, it's summer that he can see in Bokuto's eyes, it's the summer of Bokuto that makes him bite on his lip so that it won't tremble, so that he wouldn't start talking and talking, and talking, saying everything there is to say and regretting it afterwards.

He gulps silently, a little beam appearing on his face as he keeps his eyes casted down.

He wants to tell Bokuto that he desires him to be the paper for his poetry instead, he wants to eternalize his feelings not with ink, but with touches of his fingertips instead, but he's holding himself back and even though he's trying to collect every drop in his glass of courage that the blooming flower still lacks, the glass is not full yet, and his flower isn't in full bloom yet, it can't speak, it can't voice things out.

Bokuto watches Akaashi for a bit longer, and when Akaashi meets his eyes again, they're filled with understanding, they're warm and inviting, but not demanding anything, and Akaashi realises that Bokuto knows everything, that he has everything figured out and Akaashi's never truly managed to hide anything from him. 

"You know the reason why I quit owl training?" Bokuto asks after a moment and Akaashi shakes his head, but doesn't get to say anything. "I didn't like forcing owls to do things they didn't want to do. Even though it's something small, something they do themselves every day, they won't want to do it if they're told to. I tried to make owls sit on my shoulder and they would try to fly away just to do the same on the branch. It only made them suffer. But I never tried making _her_ do it, and even though it took some time, eventually she started doing it herself without suffering. And she's not leaving."

"Why are you telling me this now?" even though Akaashi's quite sure he knows the reason, he asks it; he wants to hear Bokuto say it, he wants to get a few more drops into his glass of courage. And when Bokuto laughs silently, his voice somehow relaxing Akaashi, his summer sun shining so bright that nothing can shade it. The flower inside him opens all of its petals and somehow everything gets a little bit easier.

"Because you're the same, Akaashi. You're just like those owls, and you will run away if I try to force you to stay," he gives Akaashi a smile and shrugs his shoulders. Akaashi feels his lips curl into a tiny smile, too, and he takes a deep breath.

"You never stop amazing me," he smiles again, then puts the book on the table and gets into more comfortable position, facing Bokuto. "I heard you talking to her a while ago," he says almost in whisper, and clears his throat. It seems somehow wrong and it makes him feel like a stalker of a kind, but he feels like he wants to let Bokuto know. It's going to get better this way, he tries to convince himself as he looks Bokuto into the eyes, a silent laugh escaping his lips when confusion appears on Bokuto's face. "When I was staying over. I heard what you said about me and-"

"Oh my god," Bokuto's eyes go wide in a second, and it's lovely, if you asked Akaashi, but he doesn't get enough time to enjoy it as Bokuto covers his face with hands. "You must have thought I'm a creep, I am so sorry, Akaashi."

Akaashi shakes his head, even though Bokuto can't see it.

"I didn't," he sighs, "I just," he stops for a while, thinking, and Bokuto moves his hands away, looking back at Akaashi. "I just didn't know how to bring this up before."

He can feel his cheeks getting warmer, and Bokuto laughs.

"I really like you," he says after a while, his voice gentle and pleasant to Akaashi's ears. "No need to say anything," he laughs silently when Akaashi opens his mouth, "I just thought you deserve hearing it directly," he shrugs and Akaashi lets out a soft hum.

And maybe it's okay, after all, maybe he's already used to summer even though he didn't notice it himself, and there's no need to wait, Akaashi thinks when Bokuto's warm gaze caresses him. If he's the owl in Bokuto's mind, it means Bokuto doesn't want him to leave, and Akaashi decides that he couldn't ask for more.

He tries replying inside his head at first, checking the sound of the words, making sure if he can voice them out.

"I don't plan on writing any poetry," he whispers carefully, looking at Bokuto. A small beam appears on Bokuto's face, gradually turning into a wide smile.

"Great," he whispers, then after a bit of hesitation reaches for Akaashi's hand and entwines their fingers. Akaashi looks at him a bit surprised, but then leans back next to Bokuto, and closes his eyes.

He waits for a while, then squeezes Bokuto's hand a bit tighter, and Bokuto smiles.

-

When Bokuto comes back after walking Akaashi to the station, he finds a folded piece of paper on the table. He hasn't noticed Akaashi leaving it there, but there's Bokuto's name written in a neat handwriting he came to know so well.

He reads the words, and smiles to himself, showing the paper to the owl. 

"When I saw you I fell in love, and you smiled because you knew. Shakespeare," he reads it aloud and the owl hoots silently, as if understanding every word.

-

_"Is it allergy?" Koutarou asks when Keiji sneezes for umpteenth time on their way back home. The younger boy shakes his head, covering his eyes with a hand when he looks up at Koutarou._

_"No," he gives a wide smile, then points to his nose with other hand, "The sun has kissed my nose."_

_Koutarou furrows his little eyebrows, a pout appearing on his face, "I don't get it."_

_A genuine laugh escapes Keiji's lips and he stops, getting on his tiptoes, still pointing to his nose, "My freckles. You can see them now. My mom told me that every freckle is a kiss from sun."_

_Koutarou looks up closely, and really, dozens of little, hardly visible dots are splattered across Keiji's nose, some of them reaching his cheeks that are turning a bit pinkish now._

_"It's cute," he hums, then takes a deep breath, bringing his arms behind his head, "Sun loves you so much. I also want freckles!"_

_Keiji thinks for a moment, then giggles to himself, touching his nose, then running in front of Koutarou and touching his nose when he comes closer._

_"Here, I give you some of mine," he smiles, then narrows his eyes, looking closely at Koutarou's nose. "Kou's skin is a bit darker, so you can't see them. But they are there."_

_The older boy's lips curl into a warm smile, and he brings his arms around Keiji, squeezing him as tight as he can._

_"You're the best!"_

-

"What are you doing?" Bokuto asks when he sees Akaashi scribbling something. He's holding a little box with beetles in it, and Akaashi sniffs when he sees it.

He closes the notebook, putting it on the floor and standing up, "I was told that I have to make a person smile and laugh if I want them to love me," there's a slight blush coming to his face and even though Bokuto's quite sure it's a quote his cheeks get pink too, a smile curling at his lips. "But the thing is, every time you smile or laugh, I'm the one falling in love more and more," he smiles, looking up at Bokuto, "I have this stuck in my head, but can't remember where I read it, so I'm taking a note and will check it later."

"You really do like quotes, huh?" Bokuto grins, and Akaashi smiles back, slightly shrugging his shoulders. 

"I do," he admits, and Bokuto lets out a hum.

He has heard numerous quotes from Akaashi, and he's not sure if Akaashi realises it himself or if he's doing it on purpose, but the quotes he's saying always come from himself, it's not just words he has remembered, they always convey his own thoughts and feelings, they always come from within him, sometimes word to word as they are, sometimes changed a bit from original. It looks like he's covering the things he says with the curtains of quotes, but that's a side of Akaashi that Bokuto also likes. It reminds him of secret language, and he's happy to be the one who understands it.

He shoves the box to Akaashi and waits for him to pick a beetle. There's a bit of nervousness visible on Akaashi's face when he gets closer to the owl, but the moment owl takes the beetle it all disappears, making way for a content smile.

"Isn't it more tasty, getting the beetle from Akaashi?" Bokuto asks the owl, then points to Akaashi, "If you told anyone that you got fed by him, everyone would get jealous," he nods to himself, approving of his own words. Owl hoots silently and Bokuto nods again, "You say he's beautiful? I think so too," he says and giggles when Akaashi lets out a sigh.

"Bokuto-san, please don't be ridiculous," Akaashi gives him a look, then slowly touches owl's head and strokes it a few times, "Don't listen to him."

"I'm just saying what's obvious," Bokuto comes closer, putting his chin on Akaashi's shoulder from the back. He lets his arms wrap around Akaashi and pulls him closer.

"Bokuto-san," Akaashi mutters, but there's no real complaint in his voice. He turns his head to meet Bokuto's eyes and lets out a silent sigh when Bokuto grins at him. 

There's a smallest of smiles curling at the corners of Akaashi's lips and when he tilts his head to the side to fit it against Bokuto's, Bokuto squeezes him a bit tighter, a soft pleased hum escaping his mouth.

"There's no need to call me "Bokuto-san", Akaashi," Bokuto mutters. He can feel how Akaashi stiffs slightly, and his heartbeat gets a bit faster, but then he relaxes, taking a deep breath.

"Then there's no need to call me "Akaashi", Koutarou," he says in a soft whisper. There's no hesitance in his voice and Bokuto grins to himself. 

"Alright. Keiji."

-

It's hot outside and the sun is attacking everything in its way, making all the people hide indoors where the cool breeze from air conditioners lets everyone forget about the melting heat on the other side of the doors.

Bokuto takes the longer way to the station, but it goes along the river where they can enjoy the shadow from the trees, and they can walk next to each other without worrying that they take too much space on the narrow pavement.

"It's a lovely place," Akaashi says and when he lifts his eyes to look around, he sneezes silently.

"It is," Bokuto chuckles silently, looking at Akaashi. "You know, I never thought I could be jealous of sun," he sighs, then laughs at the way Akaashi's looking at him.

"You want to burn people alive?" he asks seriously, "Koutarou, I never took you for such a cruel type," he adds, a note of irony in his voice, and giggles to himself when Bokuto rolls his eyes. "Why would you be jealous of sun?"

"Isn't that obvious?" he shrugs and the faint blush doesn't go unnoticed by Akaashi. Bokuto takes a deeper breath, then points to Akaashi's nose. "Your freckles are visible now. I'm jealous of sun because it gets to kiss your nose."

Akaashi stops, now the blush appearing on his cheeks, too. Bokuto laughs, but then a small beam sets on his face, "I want to do it, too." He lets out a deep sigh, putting his hands in the pockets and starting to walk slowly again.

"What's stopping you?" Akaashi blurts out, averting his eyes when Bokuto turns around and blinks at him, but then looks up again, their eyes meeting. "Go ahead," he whispers, and it's sudden, and Bokuto's heart starts beating faster, a little trembling settling inside his chest. He watches Akaashi, trying to pick on any hints that would tell him that's a joke, but he can't find any; he can't see any proof that Akaashi would flee if Bokuto takes up the offer, and a little satisfactory smile twirls at the corners of his lips.

He takes a step closer and leans forward slowly, bringing his hands on Akaashi's shoulders and Akaashi brings his eyes back to Bokuto, closing them just before the moment Bokuto's lips touch his nose. 

Akaashi's fingers grab onto Bokuto's shirt, and when Bokuto lets himself plant a few more kisses on the cheeks too, he can feel how Akaashi smiles. 

It's hot and their palms are sweaty, their skin slightly sticky from the humidity, and Akaashi has never liked summer that much, but the hot touch of Bokuto's lips is different and the summer he brings inside Akaashi is different, too. It makes his heart beat faster, it makes him want for this heat to stay, it makes him feel so happy that he starts thinking if summer is always like this, it might become his new favourite season.

Akaashi pulls back, opening his eyes to catch a glimpse of Bokuto's wide smile and letting his forehead rest against Bokuto's as he looks him right into eyes. There's a summer sun in the sky, but the summer sun that Akaashi came to love is not the one in the sky. It's the sun in front of him that he calls Koutarou, and Akaashi feels like it's time to let his sun know it.

"I adore you," Akaashi whispers in a soft voice, and Bokuto laughs. Akaashi smiles, then closes his eyes again before leaning forward and pressing his lips against Bokuto's.

Bokuto lets his hands move down Akaashi's arms until he reaches his hips and gently pulls him closer.

Their kisses are short and sweet, they feel like feathers caressing Bokuto's lips, and now Bokuto's sure, his owl is not leaving.

-

"You know, I was thinking. If we're keeping the owl," Bokuto slightly furrows his eyebrows for a second, and Akaashi smiles at the way he used 'we' instead of 'I' even though they don't live together, "we should name her."

"You still didn't choose the name for her?" Akaashi sighs, making his voice carry a note of disappointment just to tease Bokuto, and it works perfectly when Bokuto pouts.

"I... well, I never had a chance," he mutters, shrugging his shoulders, "I was thinking about it but I can't come up with anything good, why is it so difficult," he takes a deep breath, turning around and looking at sleeping owl. "Do you have any ideas?" he looks back at Akaashi, his eyes wide, golden as summer sun. Akaashi can't turn his eyes away, so he lets himself enjoy watching Bokuto's face as if he's thinking. He's always known the name he'd give for the owl, but he doesn't want to make himself so obvious, doesn't want to sound too confident. The owl has always reminded him of Bokuto, and when he looks at both of them, there's only one word coming to his mind.

"Summer," he says after a while, a little smile playing on his face, "what if we called her Summer?"

Bokuto's lips start curving into a smile which turns into a wide grin. 

"Summer," he tastes the word and nods to himself. He looks at the owl again, then back at Akaashi, a smile never leaving his face. "I think it's perfect."

\---

It's windy outside and Akaashi has heard the rumours that it might even snow this week.

"I'm back," he says when Bokuto opens the door with Summer on his right shoulder. Akaashi's not living here, at least not yet, but every time he comes to Bokuto's apartment it feels like coming home. He has once muttered the words without thinking, and Bokuto has heard it, insisting that from now on he should always say it. And Akaashi didn't even argue about it; it feels natural, the words escape Akaashi's lips on their own, and it always brings smile on both of their faces.

"Welcome back, Keiji," Bokuto grins, taking the bag from Akaashi's hands to put it away, and Summer hoots silently, turning her head for Akaashi to pet her.

Their golden eyes are looking at him, they both are warm to his touch, a pleasant smell of home reaching Akaashi's nose.

It's already winter outside, but in here it feels like summer, and Akaashi smiles because after all, summer might just be his favourite season.

"Your freckles are almost invisible now," Bokuto hums when Akaashi takes off his shoes and steps up, getting on his tip toes to brush his cold nose against Bokuto's. "And your nose is cold."

"Don't worry, they're still there," Akaashi smiles, then giggles when Summer jumps on the counter, trying to check what's inside Akaashi's bag, "and my nose doesn't like winter."

Bokuto laughs, then brings his hands on Akaashi's face and leans over to kiss him. Akaashi smiles. His nose might not like winter, but it certainly loves summer, and Bokuto knows it far too well.

And his freckles might not be visible during cold season, but Akaashi feels like they never leave his face. Because there's always summer sun besides him, kissing his nose, his cheeks, his shoulders and lips. It's a special summer sun that goes by name Bokuto Koutarou, and this sun doesn't make Akaashi sneeze.

Instead, Bokuto just makes him smile and laugh. And just like this, every time Akaashi falls for him more and more. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you very much for sticking until the end of it!


End file.
